


We're Not Invincible

by juggieheadcoopers



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, One Shot, Season Finale, Tumblr Ask Box Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-13
Updated: 2017-05-13
Packaged: 2018-10-31 04:14:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10891482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juggieheadcoopers/pseuds/juggieheadcoopers
Summary: Takes place in 1x13 after Jughead ushers Betty away from the locker of horrors and before they walk home together in the snow





	We're Not Invincible

“Jug, let go!”

Betty wriggled free of Jughead’s grasp, untangling herself from the gentle hands resting on her cheeks and the secure arms wrapped around her waist as she turned to head out of the Blue and Gold room that Jughead had ushered them into and back into the hallway of hushed whispers and judgmental glares. 

“Hey, hey, hey,” Jughead lunged forward to stop her for the second time that day, sliding his hands up her cheeks to cradle her face and tilting her chin down so she would meet his gaze. “Look at me. This is because of me, okay, not you. You don’t deserve this. You don’t deserve any of this.” 

“They’re cowards, all of them,” Betty muttered through hot and angry tears, gesturing to the open doorway with one hand before letting it drop helplessly to her side in defeat. “Hiding behind their anonymous messages and creepy dolls and-”

“Shhh,” Jughead soothed, wiping away a falling tear with one of his thumbs and tilting his chin forward to rest his forehead against hers. “We’re going to get through this - you and me. We’re bigger than their hatred and cowardice. We’re stronger than that and we always will be.” 

“I don’t regret writing that article, Jug,” Betty told him, pulling away from his embrace slightly but remaining close enough for Jughead to place a gentle hand on the small of her back. “I would do it again in a heartbeat. In fact, I wish there was more I could do.”

“I know,” Jughead nodded, his voice soft as his eyes drifted down to take in the worried frown forming on her lips and wishing that he could kiss away all the pain and sadness, but knowing that it wasn’t the right time. 

“I feel so helpless and it’s driving me insane,” Betty mumbled, her hand reaching up to brush more tears streaming down her cheeks as she shifted back and forth uncomfortably in front of him. 

“I know it is, but you need to remember that this is a dangerous game we’re playing, Bets,” Jughead told her, his hand resting in the crook between her neck and shoulder. “And at the end of the day we’re not invincible.”

“After what happened to Jason Blossom,” Betty whispered. “I think it’s pretty impossible to forget that.” 

Jughead pulled Betty into his chest, and she let herself breathe the sigh or relief she had been holding in all day, grateful to be comforted by his warm and secure embrace.

“I hate that you’ve been targeted like this,” Jughead breathed into her hair, his lips grazing her earlobe ever so slightly as he pulled back from the hug. “Because of me and my father no less. It isn’t fair to you.”

“Haven’t you learned by now that I’d do anything for you, Jughead Jones,” Betty told him, her lips quirking up into a small smile for the first time since she had found out her locker had been vandalized. 

“Sometimes I wonder if I deserve it,” Jughead admitted, his voice cracking the slightest bit as he met her gaze with vulnerable eyes. “Sometimes I wonder if I deserve you.” 

“You deserve so much more, Juggie,” Betty assured him, her hand reaching up to smooth back the dark curl peeking out from the top of his beanie. “You deserve to be happy.” 

“Being with you,” Jughead muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. “That’s all the happiness I need.” 

Betty leaned into his chest, her lips meeting his with the softest peck as she felt her tension and anger and sadness that overwhelmed her only moments ago, beginning to melt away.

“I guess we should go deal with the locker situation,” she announced after a moment, pulling back from his embrace and turning on her heel to head through the doorway leading out into the hall. 

“I’ll take care of it,” Jughead insisted, taking her hand in his before she could get too far ahead of him. “You go talk to Principal Weatherbee. As much as I wish we didn’t have to rely on him, he’s the one in charge of the school and should probably be informed of the ruthless stunts his model students are pulling under his watchful eye.” 

Betty nodded as Jughead led them back out into the hallway, Betty tugging on the hem of his jacket sleeve to stop him before they could go any farther. “Thank you for pulling me away from that locker,” she breathed, her eyes dancing with so much love and admiration that she was afraid he might be able to notice. “If I had stayed another second, who knows what the darkness inside me would have unleashed.”

“You know I would never let that happen,” Jughead assured her, turning to face her as the crowded hallway began to disperse at the sound of the bell. “Betty I-”

Jughead wanted to keep her safe, he wanted to protect her from everything he was and all the baggage that came with being his girlfriend. But he knew that the only way he could do that would be to separate himself from her - at least until all the chaos over his father’s arrest and Betty’s article died down. As much as he loved her, he knew this was what he had to do.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Jughead said quickly, squeezing her shoulder before turning to head back in the direction of Betty’s locker. “Wait for me outside okay? I’ll walk you home.”

Betty gave him a quick nod before heading in the direction of the front office, and Jughead swallowed hard as conflicting thoughts overtook his mind. Jughead knew he didn’t belong at Riverdale High anymore. He knew it wasn’t his home. But he believed, deep down to his very core, that Betty Cooper was. 

He just wished that his love for the girl next door with the golden halo of hair and a heart so pure, was enough to stop the war that was threatening to overtake the town and rip them apart.


End file.
